Remembering to Breathe
by usagi-mono
Summary: Mermaid AU. Haruka comes to learn firsthand that when humans see something beautiful, they are driven with the need to possess it. MakoHaru. In-progress.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **It's an AU mermaid fic, whaddya know! To be frank, I had no clue where I was going with this – I just wanted a scene where the pretty little merman Haruka saves the dashing young captain of the ship and through some trials and tribulations end up together but as for how... I'm still working on that part (*cries*) I guess I still have no clue how this will turn out! x'D

The story was meant to have possible elements from the PotC movies, but I definitely won't be able to keep up to such a standard, and will eventually grow sick of writing deep plot anyway. So I'm trying hard to keep it simple, so as not to bore anyone (too much). It's rare for me to want to post something I haven't really planned 100% beforehand, but I'm just curious to see the response...?

What I can say I -_am-_ planning, are including the rest of the boys in this, plus having a bit of a drama and twists but that's just at the back of my head – I honestly haven't thought of anything concrete for this (*sobbing intensifies*). Any ideas are welcome, please! (:

And of course, a million thanks to everyone who faved and reviewed my previous MakoHaru fics! *bows to thee* I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome, thank you so much! And I will continue to contribute my nonsense to this fandom as long as the inspiration is still there! (:

* * *

They say a mermaid is the herald to a great storm. With their lovely faces and lustful charm, it is no wonder many a sailor would gladly drown for a mere glimpse.

Makoto never quite understood the appeal, but drifting out here in sea for as close to two months now, looking at the same disgruntled faces day in and day out, even he wishes for an encounter with something as alluring and evanescent as a myth. He stares out from the stern of the ship and tries to make out silhouettes just beneath the surface, but all that's there are dark ripples and faint outlines of fish swimming past.

Ah, what he'd give to be one of them. Now, if only he weren't so afraid of the –

"Captain Tachibana," his navigator calls out to him. "We should speed up north, if we are to beat the storm ahead."

Lightning strikes in the far distance. He shudders, but it does not waver his gaze. Who ever heard of a sea master who's afraid of a little storm? He grips the handrail and braces himself internally.

'_Where is that mermaid now?_' he thinks, as he turns around to address his crew.

**~ooo~**

Since he was a mere fledgling, he'd been told to never wander near the surface without his brothers, so that was exactly what he did. Then again, in their clan, Haruka has always been known to be rather eccentric and stubborn and frequently acts on impulse. And thus, here he finds himself seperated from his kin yet again, in the midst of chasing down the current left behind by a breaching humpback whale.

Haruka flexes his tail and gives himself a little push, feeling the rush of bubbles tickling over his bare torso and over his neck and face. A trail of little fish rush past him, in pursuit of the disappearing whale.

_This is the life_, he thinks, and he is so close to the surface that he might get caught in a human's net but that is the last thing on his mind. Not with the water carrying him away like this.

Nothing else matters but the feel of being swept away by the love of his life.

A darkness veils over his closed eyes and he opens them to find himself in the shadow of a magnificent ship.

_Humans. _

Haruka flees to a safer distance, his mind suddenly filled with the warnings of his brothers, cautioning him about harpoons and nets and flares of explosive light that are said to rip even the sturdiest boat apart. He is just as wary as the next merman, but that does not stop him from being curious.

The only things he's experienced first-hand of land-dwellers are from the baffling objects they leave behind their wake, and on rare occassion, the remnants of a sunken ship (of which he has been warned time and time again to never venture into alone, but he knows that the average land-dweller could never survive underwater for as long as he). Sometimes, when there is a flock of seagull hovering above, they would also throw scraps of food into the ocean for the birds to feed on. At least, that is what Nagisa tells him.

Haruka knows little about human men, except for what he hears, and what little he has seen. The sirens speak of their gullibility, the fish speak of their savage ways, and the water – the water does not tell him anything; it only opens up waves of opportunity, something Haruka has never hesitated diving head first into.

When he judges it safe, he breaks the surface for the first time in about three months, and he can almost hear the exasperated cries of his brothers in the far distance.

The wind against his skin is cooling, and it makes him want to sink back down into the comforting warmth and familiarity of the water, but the sight before him is too magnificent, too rare for him to have any thoughts of missing it out.

Humans are amazing as they are terrifying, he muses. They are unafraid of crossing over territory unknown to them, places in which they are never safe, what with those feeble limbs they call legs. But in the stead of land, they build massive structures on which they can navigate the seas properly, without having to swim. The ocean spans further across the globe than the land, and thus the human man, with his imperious nature, asserts his dominance over it, like everything else he chooses to conquer. Even now, the whispers of the sea warn Haruka of the dangers of being this close to the domineering land creature.

After all, once out of the water, he is as defenseless as a hatchling and can do nothing against whatever they subject him to.

Haruka hides between the shifting of currents, and watches the men run up and down the deck, toying with their ropes and sails and fancy maneuvering equipments. Out on the rear, he sees a lone man looking out at the ocean with a sort of melancholy; he towers above the rest with his impressive height, but moreso due to a quiet charisma that surrounds him, and Haruka can already guess what role he plays.

_The master of the ship_.

Each boat that carries men over the water has one, at least. This one is young and able-looking, but like his brothers would say, land-dwellers are all the same, when plunged into the waters – weak because they cannot breathe down here, because they sink and drown and die, all the same.

_The water does not like them. _

Haruka smells the storm that is coming, and continues to watch in apprehensive silence.

The man moves to the quarterdeck, and shouts his orders over the sound of the waves. His crew move accordingly. For a moment, Haruka is reminded of his father, and he dips himself down a bit to cool his head. When he comes back up, the man is facing the sea again, and Haruka freezes, nearly imagines that they are looking right at each other, but the human stares far beyond that.

It is more thrilling than it is daunting, he thinks, to be discovered by such eyes. They are kind and pensive and brilliant and Haruka just wants to know the story behind them.

He might be human, but there is nothing he finds terrifying about this man at all.

Haruka doesn't have time to ponder more on the situation, because the first tides of storm rush up to immerse him back underwater – a signal for him to stay away from the surface.

**~ooo~**

It is worse than expected. The waves are ruthless, the rain is stinging, and the winds uproot the sails and the very last shred of security they've been holding on to.

_Is this the end? _Makoto cannot help but wonder, amidst the cries of his men, over the sound of gushing waters and howling winds. And to think, the one and only High Speed that was meant to be the sturdiest ship of its time, is now being rendered useless in the grasp of a decidedly cruel mother nature.

A particularly mighty wave crashes onto them from the right, and the entire ship angles upward. The men who have not been holding on to anything prior slide down the now tilted deck, screaming and clawing at whatever they can clinch their nails on. Makoto barely manages to catch one of his crew members by the arm, when lightning strikes the topsail mast and it catches fire immediately. He doesn't have time to think for himself, when it comes crashing down on them, and he lets go, or risk critically injuring the both of them.

The sailor is saved, but Makoto plummets down the slippery deck and into the cold, watery depths, and the last thing he hears before the ocean muffles out everything else, are the desperate cries of his crew and the roar of thunder across the entirety of the pitch black sky.

He is powerless here, and it is _so very dark_.

Makoto struggles against the current sucking him downward, but every jerk of his strong arms and legs seem futile. Out of despair, he shouts but it comes out in bloated bubbles and gurgles, and only serves to steal him of his precious breaths. The darkness engulfs, the very core of his nightmares claiming him completely, and Makoto promptly forgets everything he knows about swimming.

**~ooo~**

Haruka has never witnessed a human drowning before; the very idea is incomprehensible to him, one who has lived within the cradle of the sea for all his life. He can imagine drying up at least – is the feeling similar to death by drowning?

The human men, with their weak legs and clothed bodies that hinder, fall into the water, and flail around in a panicked attempt to rise back to the surface.

Haruka is sixteen years young, and has never learnt of death or peril before this. It frightens him so much he can barely move. At this distance, he sees the scared faces of the humans clearly, too caught up in their anxiety that they do not notice him right below them. Another man crashes down into the brine, and he gasps in shock, barely misses getting nicked by the sailor's boots. Out of fear, he swims away from the scene.

He doesn't understand, how the ocean – his beautiful, calming ocean that bathes him in so much freedom – takes it away so easily as well. It is unheard of. There must be something he can do; he is a child of the sea, after all, and will not let such tragedy pass the threshold of his home, even if it means going against all he believes in.

He stops, just as a firey pole slams onto the surface of the sea, briefly illuminating the area beneath the strong tides. It creates just enough light for Haruka to spot the silhouette of a man no longer struggling like the rest and quickly descending.

_It's him. _The ashen brown hair, the large build – there is no mistaking it.

Haruka dives further into the darkness, and just as he puts his arms around the man, he is taken over by an unknown fear. The man is covered in appendages humans call clothes that flow around him like seaweed. The sleeves are as smooth as the back of a sting ray, as pearly as deepwater white coral. How does something so alien remind him of fragments of home? Up close, the human is handsome, but pale, and his lips are deathly blue, and Haruka wonders if he is already gone.

"Wake up!" he shouts, shaking the man by the shoulders. The brunette's head just lulls lifelessly to the side.

He is so scared, so unsure, but Haruka links his arms around the man's larger torso and does the only thing he can think of.

_Humans cannot breathe underwater. _

This man needs the air above ground.

Even for a merman the waves are ruthless, and Haruka strives with all his might to lift the captain up and above the surface. It takes intense effort to keep both their heads above the water. Never before in his perfectly stagnant life, has he ever felt so helpless and weak, and carrying the life of a stranger in his arms.

_What am I doing? _

Haruka wonders if he should send a plea for help to his brothers, but he's already been abandoned by all.

A foreboding silence consumes them, and they are enveloped in the shadow of a looming tidal wave, when Haruka suddenly remembers an old tale his grandma used to tell him. It is somewhat of a myth, something unproven for centuries but continues to be a part of stories of love and lost he's been told as a child. He's heard that even sailors believe in it too, and the very thought strengthens his resolve. He cradles the captain close to him, and anticipates the force of the tide.

"Live," he says to the man, and kisses him on the lips without an ounce of hesitance.

The wave strikes down harder than he imagines it would, and swallows them up wholly.

_'A merman's kiss will save a sailor from drowning.'_

Haruka can only embrace the captain closer, and skim their bodies through the slight opening left by the current and lead them into safer waters.

**~ooo~ **

As quickly as it started, the storm subsides into a faint drizzle and the ocean rests, sated.

It has been close to ten years since he's set foot on actual earth soil, but Haruka doesn't think anything of it, as he drags the limp human man onto shore. The tide might rise again, and Haruka wants him safe on dry land, somewhere he may be easily spotted by others. With an arm, he pulls the both of them onto the sand. His whole body trembles and his tail aches, but all Haruka can think of is this strange land-dweller and how he must save him. He doesn't know why, but he knows that he wants to – has to – see this man as he was before, standing tall and proud and looking out at the waves wistfully, as though waiting for a revelation.

He hauls himself onto the beach first, and waits, as the shivering takes over. His tail flails about, before compressing, and shrinks into a mere web of blue glistening scales, to finally fall off smooth naked legs like a wet cocoon. It is like having the skin melt off his very bones. Just like the first time, he feels incredibly vulnerable, but he steels himself for the task ahead.

He tries standing, to test his new limbs; the land-dwellers make it look so easy. Haruka just quakes and falls back to the ground like a newborn fawn. His feet still feel like fins, and the sudden stiffness there is something he will never want to accustom to. Instead, he drags them both away from the licking waves with his arms, and collapses onto the man's chest with the sheer effort.

"Wake up," he whispers again, into the soaked garments of the captain.

_Thump. _His heartbeat is weak, but it is more than enough.

Haruka checks the man over again for any injuries he might have sustained. He brings the man's mouth close to his face and feels the faint but warm breath tickle the shell of his ear. Turning away, blushing, Haruka realizes he's never come so close to an actual human before, much less kiss anyone in his entire life before that perilous moment. It doesn't help that the human is so easy on the eyes.

The man's lips are cold under his fingertips, and Haruka leans down to remedy that.

Perhaps he can blame it on impulse or curiosity, but whatever it is, the mere taste of another's lips on his own is enough to bring the blood rushing to his face. And Haruka has never had that experience before. It feels as though the ocean that he's left behind still resides in his very core, pulsing waves throughout his entire frame, sending ripples of warmth spreading out from his chest to the rest of his wet, shivering body.

He hastily parts away with a gasp, just as he hears a weak moan from the other.

Despite the gnawing fear, he stays rooted to the spot. He wants to see it. He wants to see it so badly.

_The color of your eyes._

Under the steady beating of rain, Haruka lies on his side, and waits for a miracle.

**-End of Chapter 1-**

* * *

**A/N: **Just a note: Makoto is almost ten years older than Haru here. I didn't want Haru to be too old, and having Makoto be a captain at 17 is a bit odd, to say the least, thus the age gap.

The next chapter will definitely include Nagisa and/or Rei (with possible Rin), and geared more towards Makoto's point of view about what happens next. Hopefully. That is to say, if I haven't lost faith in myself and stop writing, ahaa~ But I do hope to finish something concrete, in the end (*hands shaking*) Please tell me what you thought about this first chapter! (: And I'm open to suggestions as well, so please do not hesitate to review! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Apologies for the delayed update! D: I was going to and fro between several versions of how I wanted things to be, and so... it came out so long, too. I hope y'all bother to stick to the end! (*cries one dejected tear*) I took all your comments into account, so thank you for reviewing! You make my day! (: Initially, Makoto was captain of a fleet, now he is just a captain of a merchant ship. The whole commander of the navy thing tied in with the old idea of having an entire epic saga nonsense, with battles against pirates and sea monsters, lol. But I ditched it, in favor of something simpler and relatable to the series.

The starting might be draggy at first, but I promise it gets better! I hope you guys enjoy the read! (And laugh at my pitiful efforts in trying to piece this story together!) Thank you (:

* * *

He remembers the momentum of the waves. Even in death the ocean haunts him, pulling his body along specter tides like muscle memory. It swirls within his gut until he can bear no more, and he wakes instinctively, to hurl up whatever the sea has poisoned him with.

The first thing Makoto registers during his coughing fit is that he's been lying on sand, the sun is bright and hot on his face, and the sound of the ocean still rings in his ear. He falls back onto his side to wait for the lethargy to fade, and perhaps for things to start making a little more sense once he fully recovers.

With effort, he turns to collapse onto his back, and his brain stops working almost immediately at the sight that awaits him; the sun is too white, too strong, for him to properly make out the features of the boy staring down at him, but it's enough to make his breath catch in his throat. This must be it. It must be heaven. Or at least, a piece of it, from what he can see. The young man before him is a lovely thing – dark hair falls all over deep-set eyes, pale translucent skin that catches the sunlight in a halo – Makoto begins to feel inadequate and self-conscious, with the thought that such a creature is looking at him at this close a distance. The blue eyes that gaze down at him are otherworldly, knowing, for one so young.

Makoto slowly eases into a sitting position, but the boy flinches so abruptly that he's forced to back down again. The last thing he wants is to scare him off. Then again, the eyes that stare right into his own are devoid of fear – only a little distrustful, and more than anything else, alert as a wild beast's. And it is then Makoto realizes that the boy is not human.

"Um, hey –" he starts, carefully extending a hand. He's yearning for a touch already.

The boy scampers back, and Makoto blushes a deep red, upon seeing that he is completely naked.

Was the shipwreck only a nightmare? He just knows it. Reality is that he had a drunken party the night before and ended up sleeping with the son of some prominent figure, and he'll probably get into really big trouble for it too, if he doesn't do something to cover it up. His head hurts just trying to piece the puzzle together.

"Er," he says, hoping it won't be too awkward. "H-hey, do you know... what... happened exactly?" He ends in a forced laugh.

Instead of bringing him closer to the truth, the boy continues to stare, even shifting away cautiously. Makoto notices something amiss.

The boy's lithe legs shiver violently, but perhaps not from fear. He hasn't made the effort to stand, all this time. It's as though he can't rely on his legs at all.

"Are you hurt?" Makoto asks, completely forgetting that he'd been passed out on the beach prior to this. If anyone was hurt, it probably was him.

He isn't graced with a single word, only a look of finality before the boy takes off, nimble despite the hamper of his legs. Makoto can only watch in mere confusion as the raven-haired beauty climbs into the sea from which he came from, blending with the foam and waves until he disappears there. It's as though he never existed in the first place. But after a while, a head rises from the currents to take a last look, and for a moment, Makoto's heart clenches painfully in his chest with the understanding that he might never get to see this boy again.

"W-wait –!"

Under the blinding reflection of the waves, the merman vanishes. Makoto suddenly feels empty and cold, and realizes that the uniform he's wearing is damp and heavy on his shoulders.

_Which was the dream and which was reality? _

"Brother!" a familiar voice in the distance calls out to him.

His head snaps in the direction. "R-ren?"

The young man runs up to him, face pale and drenched in sweat. His soft flyaway hair is a mess, and his wide amber eyes quiver with relief at the sight of his brother, alive and well. "Oh my – thank god you're alive, brother! We've been out searching the shores for survivors ever since the storm subsided. We thought we lost you –" Here, he begins to tear up a little, and Makoto cannot help but smile apologetically.

"It's okay, Ren," he assures his younger sibling and crew mate. "I'm here now. Sorry for making you worry. To be honest, I thought I was a goner as well," he laughs, and Ren looks positively astounded at how one can be so calm after a near-death experience like that.

"Did she sink? High Speed. Is Ran alright? How many men did we lose?" he asks, in all seriousness, but his mind is burdened with something else entirely.

"Ran's had some minor injuries but it's nothing. And fortunately no, the ship didn't sink," Ren says, still looking on the verge of tears. "Quite the miracle, really. The mainland rescue team has been dispatched early this morning. About ten men have been missing since the storm."

"They weren't... saved?" Makoto asks, curious.

"H-how do you mean?"

"I was," he says; his mind is now clear and he remembers all. "I didn't come up to this shore by a pure stroke of luck – someone brought me here."

"Who?" Ren questions, slightly incredulous but also interested.

"A boy – well no, a most _exquisite_ thing –"

"Are you sure you're alright? It's best if we get you to a medic, just in case."

"I'm fine, Ren. Please don't worry. Just drenched is all."

"Positive?"

"I feel great, actually." Makoto smiles brightly, and looks back to the ocean. Nothing there.

"A medic, it is," Ren says, and helps to pull him up.

**~ooo~**

Behind the corner of a low-leveled breakwater, Haruka keeps watch. He sighs in relief as the humans rise with sturdy legs to take their leave. The feeling is strange; he doesn't yet know if it's a good one or not, but somehow, his life feels a little more worthwhile than before, and he cannot help but allow a small smile. The tide caresses his bare skin, and he almost cannot believe he's been out of the water the whole night. If his brothers hear wind about this, he's never going to live it down. Haruka, out of the water for more than five minutes? Unthinkable.

_But worth it_, he thinks, smiling.

A loud screech resounds above his head, bringing his attention back to the real world.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, _Haru-chan!_"

He looks up, to the brief silhouette of a seagull against the morning sun, before he is hit with the beating of feathers and the sound of ear-splitting squawking.

"Oh my god!" The large feathered creature showers Haruka's face with painful pecks of what are meant to be kisses. "Haru-chan! It's been so long! Why didn't you come up to see me? Why, why?"

"Nagisa," Haruka greets his childhood friend, sinking a little with the added weight.

"Did something happen, Haru-chan?" Nagisa asks, worried. "Did you manage to find Rin?"

The abruptness and apparent sensitivity of the question makes Haruka flinch a tad, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Nagisa.

"Ah, sorry, Haru-chan," Nagisa recovers the situation. "But what are you doing up here after so long? Hey, hey, did you come up to see me? You did right?" He brightens up.

"Maybe," Haruka says. "Nagisa, don't attract attention."

"Heh!" The pacific gull backs away with a flutter of heavy wings and a grin. "Can't help it – I was really happy to see you, Haru-chan!"

He knows that Nagisa's words are just seagull squabble to human ears, but he can't help himself peeking over to the beach to see if anyone still lingered there. Nagisa perks up and looks over too.

"What, what?" he says excitedly, snapping his head this way and that. "People? Hah! I can't believe the day has come when Haru-chan comes all the way up here to –" It is then he spots the retreating figure in the distance and recognizes it immediately.

"Whoa!" Nagisa exclaims, flapping his wings. "It's Mako-chan! _Hey_, Mako-chan! Mako-chan, over here!"

"N-nagisa, hush!" Haruka clambers up the rock and pulls his feathered friend back. "Don't let him see you."

"Eh?" Nagisa turns, beak agape at the sight of a flustered Haruka. "You know Mako-chan?"

"N-no... not exactly."

"So you _do_ know Mako-chan!" Nagisa hops restlessly on his webbed feet. "Or – wait – that's not right. Haru-chan would never – ah!"

Haruka feels a chill down his spine, and he realizes he should have ignored Nagisa completely and returned underwater before the mischievous bird could come up with his own conclusions.

"Ha-ru-chan," Nagisa drawls slyly, and Haruka just wants to escape. "You were _stalking_ him, weren't you?"

The guess was off, but the implication was enough to make him flush.

"Wrong," he says curtly.

"Wah!" Nagisa lapses into something akin to the passion of a love-struck schoolgirl. "It's okay to deny it, Haru-chan. But just know, I'm rooting for you all the way! Oh, romance between a merman and a sailor – the attraction, the forbidden –"

"I didn't even say anything."

"Your face just gives you away!" the seagull snickers. "Well? Don't you want to know more?"

Haruka sighs. _Damn Nagisa and his ability to catch on quick. _

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you want to know how _I_ know Mako-chan?"

Haruka can vaguely guess. Has to be something regarding food. "He probably feeds you and your friends."

Nagisa gasps. "Spot on! How'd you know? Anyway, anyway – Mako-chan comes to the jetty every once in a while, you can see him there!"

_See this Mako-chan again, huh._

"So," Haruka starts slowly, tail twitching under the surface, "his name is Mako-chan then?"

Nagisa giggles. "Tachibana Makoto," he offers, smiling. "He's the young successor of High Speed. His mentor died in a storm, leaving the ship to him and his siblings."

"How'd you know all this?" Haruka looks at him suspiciously.

"Heh, word travels fast by seagull!" Nagisa winks. "Thought you knew that by now, Haru-chan."

"Then, did you hear about the storm? The one that hit Iwatobi last night."

Nagisa ruffles his feathers dramatically. "I heard it was scary, Haru-chan! Luckiy for me, I was at Samezuka port then. O-oh! Was Mako-chan – was he caught in the storm?"

There is a faraway look in Haruka's eyes, as he shudders at the memory. "I saw it, Nagisa."

The bird tilts his head. "Saw what?"

"Drowning," Haruka whispers. "It's strange. Humans are so weak. And yet, so..."

_So complex. So captivating._

"Haru-chan," Nagisa says softly, sinking low into his feathery chest.

There is only so much merfolk know about the human kind. Haruka, in particular, spends most of his life disregarding what goes on above the surface; it is only because of his brothers' warnings and sheltered childhood that cultivates his very need for freedom, a need to liberate himself from expectations of his own kin. It is also this nature that brings him closer to such dangerous experiences.

Since he was a hatchling, Nagisa has tasted freedom – a privilege, really, and it's not only because of the wings at his sides. He doesn't quite understand the notion of Haruka's feelings, but still, sometimes, it makes him want to sprout arms just so he can pull his friend into what humans call an embrace.

"Aw, Haru-chan, don't look like that!" Nagisa flails his wings in dismal. "Oh hey! Hey! Guess what I found the other day –" He waggles his feathers like a pup, and a red-rimmed, brittle object comes clattering out his tresses. He flourishes it proudly. "Ta-da!"

Haruka is once again amazed that Nagisa has managed to fit in such a thing into his tuft of feathers so easily. Something he learnt from the Australian magpies, Nagisa explains.

"What is it?" Haruka takes it into his hands, carefully. There are two identical pieces of glass framed by a hard, red material. They can open and close, too, but Haruka sees no purpose to it.

Nagisa leans closer, as though about to reveal exclusive information. "They call 'em '_Specks_'!" he boasts, beady eyes widening.

"Specks," Haruka repeats, still staring at the odd contraption.

"If you wear it right, it's supposed to make the world look blurry."

"Why would anyone want that?"

"I know right! Humans are weird! Heh. Look through the glass part! The glass!"

Haruka brings it close to his face and peers into them. Almost at once, he gasps and nearly lets go. "Nagisa!" he scolds, shaking his head to dispel the cloudy vision. "Where did you get this? I almost became blind."

The naughty seagull just cackles with laughter. "Cool, eh? Well, Rei-chan can probably figure out how to work them, right?"

"I suppose."

"Um, Haru-chan, could you do me a favor and pass those on to Rei-chan? Maybe he has plenty already, but..."

"If you're still wondering, the answer is yes," Haruka says. "The last time I checked, he was still mad at you, for that time."

"D'aww! But I was just teasing him, right, Haru-chan? You saw that too –"

"You tried to _eat_ him, Nagisa."

"W-well, that was meant to be a joke! Really!" Nagisa laughs nervously. "You know me – I only eat human food!"

"You're spoiled, is what you are, Nagisa."

"H-hey!"

For the first time in many months, Haruka feels a weight lift off his mind. He's been drifting alone all this while, he doesn't realize how lonely he really is. He decides it won't hurt to pay Rei a little visit, too.

The two friends go about their mindless banter, long after the captain leaves, and the first rush of sailors rise from their beds to start the new day.

**~ooo~**

It's been two weeks since the storm, and yet Makoto cannot shake off the feeling of dread, when he steps back onto the High Speed. It's taken his entire crew and more to mend the damage that was left. The smell of wood and damp rope fill his nose, and he remembers why he's here, why he's back at sea again, even when the sea herself has spurned him. It's the sense of freedom he's yearned for, having been born into a fairly conservative household, and never knowing anything past the small, sea-encompassed town of Iwatobi. It doesn't matter if it's just a merchant ship; setting sail takes him places, brings him new sights and sounds. Not to mention, an encounter with the rumored merfolk of Iwatobi seamen tales.

Indeed, there is something in the water, and he's seen it with his own two eyes.

With his sailors back in duty, comes the renewed bout of hearsay and usual gossip. One, in particular, catches his attention, and it comes from Mikoshiba (who survived the fateful night at sea, clinging on to what was left of the crow's nest until the tide calmed down).

"It was dark, right – and the waves were crazy," he begins, in his gruff manner, a small audience already gathering around him on the deck. "Went straight down – bam – and then suddenly the sea lit up like it was on fire. Turns out, it was just a mast that got hit by lightning – but it was then I saw it. Clear as day, I thought I must've hit my head on something."

Makoto listens from the quarterdeck, a strange sense of anxiety overcoming him. It really wasn't a dream, that merman. He hasn't forgotten, either, and his late night imaginations can attest to that.

"There was a _boy_ in the water," Mikoshiba continues, all pumped up that he's finally getting to tell his story. "Not one of us, no, it was something else, see. Right below me – almost hit him when I fell, too! But I know what I saw, and he was a beaut, I tell 'ya. Prettiest thing ever. He wasn't wearing anything, which was odd." Here, some of the men snicker and nudge at each other, but Mikoshiba's fiery glare snaps them into silence. "And what I saw next had me so caught up I just couldn't move – he had no legs, but a_ tail_ – a freaking tail! It was large, I thought maybe it was some sort of dolphin or something at first –"

"Hey, hey," someone interrupts. "You sayin' you met some kind of _merfolk_ down there? Those things with the pretty faces and fish tails?"

"You sayin' I'm lying?" Mikoshiba goes on the defense, cracking his knuckles audibly.

"Just sayin' you were probably right about one thing – that you _did_ hit your head –"

"What's that?" the redhead growls. "Oh, it's gonna be _your_ head that'll be crackin', I'll make sure of that, hey."

"Oi, calm down, guys –"

"What was he like? The merman –"

"– it's just his damn imagination –"

"Fuck, why didn't _I_ see something like that –"

"Probably got water-logged, is what happened," the sailor from before goes on, above the noise of the others. "Being too long at sea can sure give a man some wacked-up fantasies. Sure you didn't just wanna fuck a pretty boy –"

The first blow sends the crew jeering, clearing space for the two men to brawl it out.

Hearing this, Makoto puts on a stern face. "Alright, that's enough bonding for today," he shouts over the platform, and the crowd disperses, caught unaware that their captain had been on the lookout.

"What are you thinking?" Ran, who has secretly been listening too, speaks into his ear.

Makoto gives his sister a mellow look. "Just another day at sea," he says.

"No, no, I meant Mikoshiba's story. The merman."

"Ah, I don't think anything of it," he lies, something which Ran picks up too easily.

"Ren told me," she simply says.

"Of what?"

"Of what you told him after he found you." She's looking at him curiously now, and Makoto cannot have his own sister thinking he's crazy too. His silence prompts her to continue: "He said you weren't making any sense, talking about a boy that saved you that night, of how he disappeared into the sea – and those were your own words, remember?"

"Ran." Makoto ushers her to one side. "Don't say another word, Ran."

"It's true," she utters, eyes widening.

"Not a word to anyone," he says firmly. "That was what I saw, but I do not want any more rumors about this, alright? No one needs to know the captain's gone mad, eh?"

"Brother," Ran says, and touches his arm. "I believe you."

The way she says it with such resolve softens Makoto's heart.

"You've really grown, Ran."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No more the little rascal who bullies her brother –"

"I do not!" She puffs up her cheeks at Makoto's laughter.

"Well, I'm glad you're part of my crew now. Both you and Ren."

"What would you do without us, big brother?"

They share a knowing smile, before the wind hits the sails, and High Speed takes off once again.

Makoto knows that his obsession cannot go on. He's got family – he's got a crew – to look after now, and cannot linger on these boyish fantasies. They'll stay that way, as fantasies, and nothing more, for the assurance of his crew and his sanity.

**~ooo~**

Where he's going, not many merfolk have explored for a long time. It's the remnants of a sunken vessel, from decades ago – a massive structure of iron and wood, now the home to many families of fish and predators alike. The broken masts and twisted railings make for a daunting picture at first, but the tunnels within glitter with strewn cutlery and glass, bringing the otherwise eerie passages a sense of wonderment, which Haruka finds oddly calming. This is where one little butterfly fish has made his permanant residence.

Haruka weaves in and out of the familiar route of craters and cracks, and ends up in 'The Lobby', or so the humans call it, according to Rei. The high ceiling which had been glass once before is now a gaping hole that lets what little sunlight in. There are pockets of space from where the walls cave in, due to damage, and these have been filled with tons of trinkets, big and small. The marble floor, too, is littered with heaps of human knickknacks; and at the center of it all, a looming marble statue of a man presumed to be the master of the ship at the time. Haruka hasn't been here for so long, the place is now decorated with even more stuff than before, and he wonders how Rei even finds the dedication at all.

He's not at home, so Haruka busies himself with the fancy little toys of Rei's collection.

He goes to his favorite – a pair of '_goggles_' that humans use to help them see underwater. They don't have that membrane over the eyes like merfolk do, so it gets uncomfortable for them after a while. He fiddles with the strap, and fondly remembers a time from long ago.

Next to it, is an assortment of round ornaments in a chest. _Buttons_, from what he recalls Rei explaining. Things that hold _clothes_ together. He picks one up – golden but faded, a little scratch on its side. It's the same as the one that Captain Tachibana wears on his jacket. The pile of similar buttons within the chest tells him that many other captains probably drowned close to here over the years. That, or humans tend to lose their buttons on a regular basis.

"H-haruka-senpai, is that you?" a muffled voice rings from somewhere below.

Rei pops out from a dark hole, half-covered in what Haruka recognizes to be a captain's hat.

"Are you there?" the butterfly fish calls out, a little shakily.

Haruka swims over to where Rei is, and lifts the hat. "Yes, Rei, it's me."

"Haruka-senpai!" Rei's orange stripes literally glimmer with glee.

"I told you not to call me that, it's strange."

Rei excitedly circles around the boy, tickling his sides with fluttering fins.

"Long time no see!" Rei beams. "Haruka-senpai is as lovely as ever! No matter how many wonderful things I collect, none can compare to the beauty of the merfolk. Well, what brings you here this fine day?"

Haruka shows him the object he received from their feathered friend. "An apology gift from Nagisa," he says, unfolding it so that Rei may hook his fin somewhere.

"Nagisa-kun?"

"He's sorry. For that time."

"Hmph, well, he'd better not try it again!" Rei says indignantly, gathering the _Specks_ easily with his nimble fins and placing them together with similar ones of varying colors. The red stands out, amongst the rest, and even though he doesn't say it, Haruka knows that Rei is just marveling at how pretty it looks.

"Ah, so you went to the surface recently?" Rei asks.

"Yeah. There was something I had to do."

"I see," Rei says, and knows not to pry too much.

"If you're wondering, it's not about Rin."

The comment throws Rei off, and he does a little spin in mid-swim. "I-I see. S-so then, what was it? If you don't mind me asking..."

Rei's always taken interest in anything that had to do with humans – the humans themselves, they weren't so beautiful – but the things they carve and create with their own two hands are what he lives for. Collecting and surrounding himself with all these beautiful, fascinating pieces for which he has no real use for, and arming himself with knowledge about these objects, to one day fully understand the humankind – that is Rei's way of being, and Haruka can respect that. He also trusts him very much, but it still takes him some effort to open up about what happened.

"I saved a man," he says, and it's the first time he's uttered it.

"A human man?" Rei squeaks, mortified.

"The master of a ship," Haruka emphasizes by brandishing the captain's hat in his hands. "I brought him up to shore –"

"To shore?" Rei cries. "Haruka-senpai, think of what could have happened to you – the humans... they are nothing like the fish or the merfolk –" He comes close to Haruka's face, looking him right in the eye. "They see something beautiful, and they are driven with the need to possess it."

Rei says it so seriously that Haruka's heartbeat quickens with unease.

Beautiful. Is that what he is? Is that all he will ever amount to be, in those humans' eyes? In _his_ eyes?

"I know," he says quietly. "But he was drowning. Yes, I finally saw it – the drowning you mentioned before."

"Haruka-senpai, humans... drown and die all the time –"

"I know that!" he snaps. Rei's concerned look makes him feel a little guilty, and he apologizes. He briefly tells him of his account that night.

"It's alright, senpai. You did what you thought was best. Even if it was really dangerous."

"Is it weird of me," Haruka says, floating up until he's face to face with the nameless statue of a dead man, "to want to see him again?"

Rei considers this carefully. Haruka's always had questions about the world above, but never goes out of his way to be part of that. He loves the sea far too much. There's been nothing up there for him, until now. Though, it's probably just a short-termed infatuation, nothing more. Haruka's fairly impassive about the situation, so it doesn't worry him all that much. Then again, this placid behavior is how Haruka faces most things in life, so Rei cannot judge the magnitude of it.

"Well, maybe it _is_ weird," he replies slowly. "At least, I've never heard of a merman falling in love with a human before. Nagisa-kun would probably have a lot to say about the matter, though. Oh, and the sirens too."

_Falling in love. _The phrase catches him off guard.

"I'm not in love," is the first thing he says, turning away.

"Then you are merely _curious_, and being curious only gets you into trouble." Tough talk, for a fish that practically wanders around the edge of the sea, risking nets and birds of prey, in hopes of gathering more information about the two-legged creatures and their way of life.

"Rei," Haruka says, humorless. "I'm in love, then."

"Which _is_ it, Haruka-senpai!" Rei wails.

"I'm in love."

"No, you are _not_! And stop saying that in such a tone, it's not how you say it!"

"Then, to put it simply, I want to see him again. That's how it is."

Rei sighs. "Then, my advice to you is not to. The risks are too high."

"But you've been to the surface many times, haven't you, Rei? Close enough that you're almost grazing their feet," Haruka flits over, and when his tail starts to flutter like that, Rei knows it's not a good sign.

"Where are you going with this, Haruka-senpai?"

"Tell me how I should go about it."

"I'm not helping you risk your life."

Haruka decides to pull out the taboo topic. "What if it brings me closer to finding Rin?" And it isn't half the lie it's intended to be.

Rei draws in a breath sharply. "Senpai..."

"I'm going to do it, Rei," Haruka says, eyes glimmering like the many treasures around them. "Please help me."

Rei knows he's lost anyway, and it is all he can do, to stifle the strangled cry that emits from his lips there and then.

**~ooo~**

The shadow of the boat is enough to cast the area beneath it in total darkness. This is not a good idea at all, Rei thinks, and voices it immediately.

"This is not a good idea, after all, Haruka-senpai," Rei says, feeling sick to the stomach, but Haruka is already swimming past schools of fish to get to the hull.

"W-wait, senpai!" Rei darts towards him. "You cannot get too close! Taking the velocity of that ship to be x, and the speed at which it is traveling at – don't go too near the bow! You never know when the anchor might fall!"

"Rei," Haruka calls. "Where will the ship dock?"

"I don't know! But in the meantime, let's keep our distance – don't ignore me!"

Haruka drifts upward, the sound of human men attracting his attention. Rei grumbles and follows suit.

Above the surface, it is mid-day. Seagulls glide over the ship in their merry flocks.

"You're not going to be able to see him like this, you know," Rei says.

"Just the sound of his voice then," Haruka surprises himself at how desperate he sounds. "That's enough for me."

He still wants to be seen by those eyes, that hold him with such appreciation. No one has ever looked at him quite the same way. But what does it mean?

The waves are stronger here, close to the stern, but it doesn't stop Haruka from fighting the current to stay above water. He looks upwards, to the voices of rowdy sailors squabbling. They are all too busy with one another to be noticing him any time soon. Someone else _does_ notice him, though.

"Haru-chan! Wow, Rei-chan, too!"

The formation of gulls flying above the masts break, as one lone bird tears away from the flock, honing in on the two. He comes to sail in front of them, beaming brilliantly.

"Nagisa?"

"Nagisa-kun? What're you doing?"

"Hitching a free ride!" He pats the side of the ship with a wing. "The air pressure is amazing! Let me take you up there, Rei-chan!"

"I decline!" the fish protests. "Have you forgotten about that last time, not to mention it's dangerous –"

"We are here for a different reason," Haruka cuts in.

"You're not following the ship for Mako-chan, are you?" Nagisa gasps, in false astonishment. "Haru-chan, so passionate!"

"Nagisa-kun, please help me convince Haruka-senpai that this is bad idea!"

"A bad idea, how?"

"I don't know, I just don't have a good feeling about this!"

"Don't worry about it too much, Rei-chan!" Nagisa assures. "Fish like you swim up to these ships all the time –"

Like a harbinger of bad fortune, Rei's words ring true; above them, they hear the men shouting something briefly, before the ropes on either side of them start to heave upwards. They barely have time to figure out what they are dealing with, before a great mesh of knotted thread rises from the surface – almost as wide as the half the ship's flank itself – and this is the first time Haruka sees a _net _in his entire life. He's so staggered by the sight of his fellow sea creatures being captured so effortlessly before his very eyes. He doesn't know how it works, doesn't know how to stop it, but the first thing he does – upon seeing a distraught Rei get tangled in the flax – is to throw himself into the fray of yowling fish to save his friend.

"Rei-chan! Haru-chan!" The sound of Nagisa's outcry and the uproar of flailing fish are the only things that fill his ears. Haruka tries hard not to panic, sloppily fumbling about to untangle Rei's fin from the terrible human apparatus.

"Haruka, save yourself!" Rei cries.

"No!" But his body is already becoming weak from being out of the water.

Nagisa flies frantically, by the side. "Don't take my friends!" he bawls at the net, pecking the thread.

"Got it!" Haruka cradles the now-freed Rei in his arms. He slips him past the small opening at the top, and Nagisa makes sure he falls back into the ocean safely.

"Haru-chan! I'll save you!" Nagisa pulls hard at the knots, clawing with his webbed feet to no avail. Several tiny fish escape the expanded holes.

"OI!" a gruff voice shouts from the deck. "Get away from the net! Shoo!"

A scrap of stale bread hits Nagisa in the head, but he continues his relentless attempts.

"Nagisa, go!" Haruka demands, despite his shaking palms. "Go!"

"But they'll hurt you!" Nagisa cries, desperate. Haruka's heart sinks.

This is all his fault, he thinks. And he will bear the consequence. His voice nearly cracks, when he says, "Don't worry about me. _Go_, already! Get away, Nagisa!"

It is only when a loud _boom_ resonates somewhere nearby that Nagisa finally releases his hold. All around him, the fish are hysterical, crying and flinging their little bodies against the netting, futile in their efforts. _'Save us, merman! Please save us!' _they scream simultaneously. But Haruka is too busy worrying about his own fate.

**~ooo~**

The stunned silence on deck is unnerving, to say the least. A few men make hushed comments and give brief instructions to stay away but that is all. Fish tumble out the net as it hits the deck, smacking against the wooden planks with a wet sound. The young boy is oddly still, amongst them. Wild blue eyes watch the sailors carefully from under the net, guarded and distrustful. If he is afraid, he doesn't show it. His large tail flicks once, and the crew draw their eyes to it, fixated.

There is truth in the old tales of past seamen, after all.

Mikoshiba is the first to break from his stupor. "Look! I wasn't dreaming!" he says, and it sounds almost like a reassurance to himself.

"Oh, damn..."

"Someone call the captain!"

The merman shivers and curls into himself, as the tail that was once there melts away to reveal a perfectly-deceitful pair of human legs. His breathing is heavy, as he tries to hide himself. Without the tail, he looks just like any other fellow human, but up close his skin is lucent, and his face is as lovely as what the myths claim the merfolk to be. The crew men lower their daggers and shotguns instinctively, as the initial fear of the unknown gives way to curiosity, and for some, the salacity of animalistic desire.

Upon seeing Makoto, who's been called to check on the commotion, the merman visibly reacts. His gaze drops from a watchful state to one of eagerness and yearning. The captain, in return, seemingly returns the look with something akin to fondness and familiarity. They stare at each other, like that, for a good long moment, before Makoto finally snaps out of the dream.

If there is a sea deity, he must be in their favor today. It almost seems too good to be true, for the object of his fancy to be literally dumped into his life, just when he is about to dismiss the entire incident as a mere fantasy. Is this a form of redemption? One look into those piercing blues, and he knows; he has to return the favor. He has to spend the remainder of his life repaying back what was almost taken away from him that night.

"This man," he begins, never once looking away from the other, "this man saved me, that night of the storm." The sailors' murmurs fill the deck, everyone glancing around at each other in skepticism. "I have not told any of you because –" he crosses the distance, to stand before the raven-haired boy of his obsessions, "– I wasn't sure, myself, if it had been real or not," he ends, quietly, so that not everyone may hear it.

"But now I know," Makoto says clearly, and the merman shrinks back a bit, as if sensing the intensity of his feelings.

_Now I know I can have him. _

It doesn't matter if he has to deal with mermen, sirens, or whatever the sea throws at him – his savior, looking so vulnerable, so beautiful before him, invokes in Makoto the strangest feeling to protect and to keep. In the days that come, he learns that it is a lie he tells himself, to cover up the carnal desires he never even knew he could be possessed with.

**-End of chapter two-**

* * *

**A/N: **(*trembles in a corner*) S-so, please tell me what you thought of the latest chapter! (: Anything you think I should add, etc? What you liked, what you disliked etc?

For the next chapter, begins Haruka's life away from the ocean (as horrific as it sounds, lol). I always wanted to explore the more dominant side of Makoto, struggling with himself about his feelings for Haruka, and this will show throughout the fic. And also, Haruka torn between the two loves of his life. Next chapter might or might not be rated M, so please look out for it! (:

Thank you, and I love you guys who read it all the way! Please review so that I know who you wonderful people are! (:


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